Updated July 3, 2020
Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) all MVAS classes and events are cancelled until Aug 5. Classes listed after Aug 5 are still open for registration. Please visit “Classes” in the main menu for the current “Class Cancellation Policy”. Due to the circumstances and the health and safety of our instructors and students, there are some amendments to our cancellation policy.
After Aug 5, instructors may cancel their class at any time at their own discretion. If a class is cancelled, students will receive a full refund if requested. If possible, cancelled classes will be rescheduled for later in the year. The school offers several options depending on the class. These may include, holding your tuition in credit, transferring your tuition to a future class or receiving a full refund.
After Aug 5, if a student attending a class is feeling unwell or is uncomfortable attending a class, the student may cancel after the Registration Deadline and receive a full refund. The Cancellation Fee will be wavered for the duration of the health emergency.
The Milan Village Arts School is working closely with its instructors and students to provide the best possible outcomes. Please feel free to contact the school at any time.
We are closely following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health. Depending on future recommendations, our policies may change.
July 3, 2020 MVAS Announcement: Classes, Studios & COVID-19
First, thank you to everyone for the overwhelming support over the last several months. Thank you for the new memberships, the generous donations, the emails and the phone calls of support, your patience and your ongoing encouragement.
You may have noticed the Milan Village Arts School has been quiet in recent months. We have been taking a wait and watch approach. In March, the board put together a contingency plan for classes, then a week later Minnesota was in full lockdown. No one knew whether the lockdown would last weeks, months or longer. Now the 4th of July is here and the last 3 and a half months feels like an eternity. It is hard to believe the year is just half over. Since March, MVAS has cancelled all classes, studios and events, including the annual Spoon Gathering. June brought some hope with a relaxation of government directives and a possibility of a gradual reopening of classes. It appeared the US was heading in the right direction.
On June 18th the board voted to commence the process of exploring the possibility of a controlled reopening of classes in July starting with Jim Paulson’s Scandinavian Ale Bowl Carving class on Jul 17 – 19. Given the facilities available to the school, including the main school, Burn’s Park for outdoor classes and the expansive space in the Greater Milan Initiative building, MVAS, under CDC guidelines, felt it would be able to conduct classes safely for everyone involved, including the instructors, students and staff.
Within days of the June board meeting the situation in the US deteriorated quickly, particularly in the southern states of Florida, Texas, Georgia, Arizona and California. While these states are far from Minnesota, the US is in this together. The COVID-19 virus is not under control and given the rapid growth in infections, it will not be for some time. If the reopening had been a success and numbers had continued to fall across the US, MVAS would have pursued a reopening. This is no longer possible. Minnesota has done better in comparison, but only in comparison.
Some schools have closed till January of 2021, others are commencing a reopening, while others, like MVAS, have been watching the pandemic closely and have executed a rolling shutdown. This situation remains very fluid and where we will all be at year’s end is anyone’s guess. In response to a worsing national situation, MVAS has put a reopening on pause and has cancelled or postponed classes till Aug 5, 2020. This decision allows the school to keep its options open. We are working closely with instructors and students behind the scenes to ensure everyone knows their options. Right from the beginning all students were given the choice of rescheduling to a later class, holding their tuition in credit or receiving a full refund.
As mentioned, the support from our students, members, instructors and patrons has been overwhelming. Classes represent half our operating revenue. All businesses have been struggling since mid-March and MVAS is no exception. MVAS is in a stable financial position for the short term and is well positioned to weather the pandemic for the foreseeable future. Saying that, resources are limited and the school has for the last 4 years been directing spare available funds into the building restoration. It is my assessment 2021 will likely be a difficult year.
All schools are currently struggling with risk assessment. Due to the current climate, MVAS believes, even with precautions and the CDC guidelines, it is too risky to commence a reopening of classes. While I feel the school can guarantee a Covid free teaching environment at the start of class, once the instructor and students arrive we will lose control of our environment. For the school to move forward one of the following conditions needs to be met.
A viable vaccine must be available. The vaccine must be effective, safe, affordable and accessible for all.
Adequate testing for both COVID-19 and COVID-19 antibodies. Testing must be reliable and accessible to all who wish to be tested. My hope is reasonably priced commercial home tests will become available in the near future. If the students and instructor can test on the morning of the class and thus guarantee their COVID free status, then classes can resume in safety.
A significant reduction in US CODID-19 cases nationally. Contact tracing and quarantining is all but impossible with the current 50,000 – 100,000 new cases per day. If the situation becomes a manageable one, then the school can start reassessing the possibility of reopening classes.
On a happy note, MVAS is delighted to announce both the Framing Studio and Weaving Studio are now open to members. Shortly we hope to restart both the Silver Studio and the Open Carving Night (please see the conditions of entry for the Framing Studio below). If the current climate improves over the next month or two, there is a possibility classes will be held later this year.
In the meantime, we are working on several different projects. John Larson completed the roof to the wood-fired oven. The fence on the west side of the building has been completed. The Milan Community Foundation awarded the school $750 to purchase furniture for the Instructor’s Bedroom in the basement. The lull in classes has given the school the opportunity to get all its ducks in a row for when classes can safely start again.
Thank you to everyone for your concern and support. In our class schedule, we always thank members for their support and point out your membership not only helps keep the lights on, but also supports the growth and development of our vibrant arts community in Minnesota. Now you know why we say this. Your membership support has been key to the school’s ability to weather this crisis. In the months going forward, your ongoing support is going to become increasingly important.
I will endeavor to keep you all as updated as possible.
For questions, please contact the Milan Village Arts School .
Ron Porep
MVAS Director
Milan Village Arts School
P.O. Box 230
97 Washington Ave.
Milan, MN 56262
320.734.4807
